Higher education leaders and city officials will hold an open house Monday, February 10 to celebrate the construction of a new 112-bed student housing complex set to open in August on the Columbus campus.

Officials expect the fully-furnished units to be ready in August for the ten-month 2014-15 academic year, which runs from August through May.

Student residents will have a choice of two floor plans:

1. Four-bedroom, two-bath suites with shared kitchen and living areas. Cost per student is $4,750 for the academic year.
    
2. Two-bedroom, two-bath suites with shared kitchen and living areas. Cost per student is $5,500 per ten-month academic year.

All students will have private bedrooms with large closets and a desk. The open-concept kitchens will include full-size appliances, dishwasher, upscale cabinets, and breakfast bar.

The complex will also feature 24-hour security surveillance, a 24-hour fitness center, on-site laundry facilities, a large social room, study area with Wi-Fi access, and monthly activities for student residents.

A roommate-matching program is available. Each student will have an individual lease for the ten-month academic year (August through May). Month-to-month leases may be available for students who want to remain in the campus housing over the summer.

The complex will be called the Villas of Columbus and is being built by Bluffstone, an Iowa-based development company specializing in upscale student-centric living environments for smaller colleges and universities.

The open house will be held in the atrium of the Columbus Learning Center, located at 4555 Central Avenue near Columbus Regional Airport.

The event will begin at 3:30 p.m. and light refreshments will be available.

At 4:15 p.m., there will be a short program with remarks and comments from Mayor Kristen Brown, City of Columbus, and representatives from the:

• Columbus Airport Authority
• Campus higher education institutions
• The Villas at Columbus

For student housing applications or details, contact Bluffstone at 563.343.3712 or info@liveatcolumbus.com. Visit www.liveatcolumbus.com for additional information.

For official comments or statements, contact:

• BLUFFSTONE: Kelly Young
  kyoung@bluffstone.com | 563.441.3055

• CEC: Stephanie Weber
  stephanie.weber@eco15.org | 812.314.8591

• HARRISON: Angie Shafer
  angela.shafer@harrison.edu | 812.669.0728

• IUPUC: Susan Sullivan
  sussulli@iupuc.edu | 812.348.7303

• IVY TECH: Randy Proffitt
  rproffit@ivytech.edu | 812.374.5343

• PURDUE: Anji McKinney
  amckinne@purdue.edu | 812.348.2041